If Boots, created by Andy Parker and based on Greg Cope White's memoir The Pink Marine, had a tag line, it would have been, "Military is not for kids." No shit. This eight-episode-long comedy drama is set in the 1990s, and at a time when it was illegal to be homosexual in the military. That's bad news for Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer), who has always been a target for the bullies. They push his head down the toilet, mock him, lock him, and this physically thin softie never retaliates against all those dipshits. Will he be more of a man if he starts attacking his bullies? Should he pump his muscles? Should he go to the gym? His mother, Barbara (Vera Farmiga), casually tells him to be manly, and his brother, Benjy (Ivan Hoey Jr.), isn't really a shrink (he is a video game junkie). But when Cameron sees a recruiting advertisement for Marines, he is seduced by the physical features of the man on the TV. That muscular body not only excites his hormones but also clears his doubts: to be a man, to change his life, he should join the Marines. His best friend/only friend, Ray (Liam Oh), provides him with the necessary push to pursue this new objective. Ray, too, wants to be a Marine, and thanks to the so-called Buddy System, he and Cameron will be assigned as each other's partner in the military — or so they think. Awesome plan, guys!
If Cameron had watched Full Metal Jacket — which Ray recommended — instead of a Golden Girl marathon, he probably either wouldn't have signed up to be a Marine or would have been better prepared for what was coming to him. Now he not only has to bear the screams and the strict orders of drill instructors, but also has to suppress his gay identity. He's not the only character hiding his sexual orientation in the Marine Corps boot camp. There is Sergeant Robert "Bobby" Sullivan (Max Parker) and another recruit named Jones (Jack Cameron Kay) who similarly try to blend in with their surroundings. However, unlike Sullivan and Cameron, Jones is more at ease in his own skin. He openly hits on Cameron, and the two of them discuss how gay the boot camp really is (the recruits are asked to mount their bed; the men, in the bathroom, are naked around each other). However, there is darkness behind even the sunniest of dispositions. The grueling training sessions break everyone down, both physically and mentally. Soon, even the diehard patriots find cracks in their armor of toughness and adrenaline.
Boots, though, doesn't just present the boot camp as a bleak hell from which no one survives. Sure, the drill instructors can be harsh, and your roommates can be pathetic. Still, at the end of the day, they are your brothers — they have your back during the worst of times. One recruit might threaten you to keep himself out of night duty, and another might think of you as a piece of shit. Yet, if you find yourself struggling to complete three pull-ups, everybody will cheer for you and encourage you to succeed. The people you train with become your family. Even drill instructors and company commanders are strict only because their role requires them to instill discipline in young trainees. In their private space, they are gentle and kind. No Marine is a villain, including the one who snitches on a homosexual. Boots ensures that we see them as people shaped by the societal norms and expectations of their time.
What Boots ultimately says is that you should not judge military life through movies like Full Metal Jacket. The place can be tyrannical, but it also has its good side. In other words, nothing new is revealed. The show might be based on a memoir, but its text, its emotions are banal, predictable, uninspiring. It doesn't take a genius to figure out Sullivan's motivations behind being so bitter towards Ray and Cameron initially. And even though the young cast is fine, the characters themselves don't produce a variety of feelings. They either act like competitive dickheads or polite, friendly, sentimental beings who seem to be asking for a hug with each and every line. I couldn't muster much enthusiasm for anyone, and the story, too, with its prepackaged and telegraphed emotions, doesn't leave any room for reactions or discoveries. You know where most characters will end up and what sentiments will be triggered later in the series. Everything is just too obvious, too formulaic.
Many people believe that criticism should focus on what is actually presented, not on what could have been included in the story. I don't entirely agree with this perspective, but when it comes to this series, you have to discuss what's not included, because what's missing is genuinely hilarious, diverting, and exciting. Boots should have actually been about Barbara, the mother who "sacrifices" her son for the sake of profit. Barbara goes to a recruiter to complain, to express concern about her son's well-being. However, she ends up sleeping with him. At a meeting for military mothers, Barbara tears up while talking about Cameron and walks out immediately. Another mother follows her to comfort her—to tell her she's not alone in her suffering—though she also believes that Barbara's son is no longer alive. What does Barbara do? She doesn't correct her; in fact, she ends up selling a waterproof mascara to this mother. Based on scenes like these, one senses that a show about Barbara could be amusing, unpredictable, and packed with spontaneity. That's the show I wanted to watch, instead of the one I watched on Netflix. I already have a title for that series: Cosmetics.
Final Score- [4/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times